“When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.” – Buddha

Fear is a wonderful lesson in the natural elements of IN & YO
(Ying & Yang in Chinese).

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (also known as the fight-or-flight response) but in extreme cases of fear (terror) a freeze or paralysis response is possible.

For this reason alone you have to understand yourself and how to read the sanshin (mind, body & spirit) within. If you understand how to look inside yourself and understand why you are feeling a specific emotional response, this gives you a greater chance for survival as now you are listening to your inner feelings, and using an educated strategy based on experience to back up the emotional gut feeling by physical action. I preach this type of strategy daily at the Budo Ryu Hombu Dojo. This is how warriors have been training for centuries; finding ways to be able to connect the mind and the body together in balance.
Remember a warrior acts; only fools react.

Next time you feel something such as fear, Fear (恐)

“When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.” – Buddha

Fear is a wonderful lesson in the natural elements of IN & YO
(Ying & Yang in Chinese).

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (also known as the fight-or-flight response) but in extreme cases of fear (terror) a freeze or paralysis response is possible.

For this reason alone you have to understand yourself and how to read the sanshin (mind, body & spirit) within. If you understand how to look inside yourself and understand why you are feeling a specific emotional response, this gives you a greater chance for survival as now you are listening to your inner feelings, and using an educated strategy based on experience to back up the emotional gut feeling by physical action. I preach this type of strategy daily at the Budo Ryu Hombu Dojo. This is how warriors have been training for centuries; finding ways to be able to connect the mind and the body together in balance.
Remember a warrior acts; only fools react.

Next time you feel something such as fear, anxiety, depression or sadness, do not just react to this feeling, as you are not in balance and more than likely do something that you might regret. Act to the emotion correctly, by using your mind in balance with the inner feeling. Developing the strategy needed to follow out the objective. This can be anything from a natural feeling of fear and love, to a daily goal all the way to military procedure.

This is why Budo is in everything that we do, it is who we are, and this is what separates us from the ones that simply read books on martial arts and think that they know; action from wisdom.

There is an old saying “He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened.” – Lao Tzu; 604 BC, Zhou Dynasty

Inspiration is what people remember, not defamation. No one wants to go to the grave forgotten and the only way to be remembered is to inspire the ones around you.

Even if it is someone that you only met for a brief moment in your life, you can share with them the greatest moment in their life, just by a simple thank you, or a smile. To some, this changes their perception of the day.

There is this Japanese term called “Shibumi” (下味) which means effortless perfection. Kobayashi Sensei always told me that there is not such thing as perfection, and the better you get, the further your idea or perception of perfection is. he always used the term “Shibumi-do” or the “way of effortless perfection.”

He said the he uses this term because no one can achieve perfection (Shibumi) they can only dedicate themselves towards the idea of it (thus the usage of the kanji “Do). But this in itself is a stagnant thought because this is not a moment of time, this is a philosophy that you have to dedicate to within your journey of life; so he always told me good luck in that journey (Shibumi-do).

Everyone wants to tell you what you can and cant do, but no one other than yourself knows what you are capable of. Dedicate yourself to the things that make you complete. Inspire the ones around you, to become better and if you know what you are worth, than go get it. No one is going to give it to you.

I hope that you understand my rambling thoughts this morning, it made sense to me as I wrote it.

“Just as the ninja operated in the shadows centuries ago in Japan, a new master of the art again comes from the darkness. Training you has been my greatest accomplishment, and it is clear the student has surpassed her master.”

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”
– Sir Terence David John “Terry” Pratchett
(“Terry” Pratchett – English Novelist)

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Art is the desire of a person express them self, to display and share the reactions of their personality to the world.

In this photo I wanted to use the contrast of the room so that people would look at the arts behind me, yet keeping my body / silhouette directly of the middle of the picture, to help with the “IN / YO” of the photograph.

Just as the screen behind me shows the dramatic difference between tiger and dragon, the photo also shows the contrast between light and dark. This in itself is also a major lesson of ninjutsu.

The screen behind me was painted by Kano Tanyu in the edo period (1602-1674) The piece is called Dragon and Waves; Tiger among the Bamboo.

The BudoRyu trains in all areas of traditional Japanese bujutsu (old Japanese fighting arts). This includes hand to hand combat, grappling, ground fighting, all traditional weapons of the ninja and samurai, modern weapon applications and tactics, self-defense, self-protection, survival skills as well as mental and emotional conditioning.